Allison is currently too sick to write about herself for this site, so we’ve taken the liberty to share her story on her behalf.
Allie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 18 months old. She has had countless hospitalizations over the years since her diagnosis and does multiple daily treatments to delay the inevitable loss of lung function. Despite the toll her disease takes on her, she lives life with passion and full of love for her family and friends. Allie is always the first person to help others in need.

The time has come where she needs a lung transplant. Her deepest wish is to live to see her little 11-month-old boy grow up.  She, her fiancé, and our families are preparing for transplant at a Center about 6 hours away from where she lives. According to a 2014 Milliman Research Report on U.S. organ transplant, the average first year costs for lung transplant is $785,000. There are many costs not covered by insurance as well as lifelong expenses related to transplant (including follow up care and multiple prescriptions).

Please find it in your heart to donate to COTA in honor of Allison – any amount will help. Thank you.
— Allie’s family

2/2/18 update:  Allie is in Pittsburgh at UPMC Presbyterian in the Cardiothoracic ICU. She is on life support, including ECMO which is essentially a lung bypass machine to oxygenate her blood and remove carbon dioxide, and a ventilator. She was approved to be listed yesterday for a double lung transplant.  Please follow along on the blog at this site for ongoing updates.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Update: Double lung transplant started at 4:30pm yesterday and ended approx 3am this morning on 2/21/18. Everything went well. She’s just where she needs to be in terms of recovery.